Chapter 184: An actor like me.
Vogue photoshoot day.
Yu Myeong tilted his head as he looked down at himself.
He was wearing a flowing sky blue shirt made from a light, airy fabric, paired with wide leg white chiffon pants so loose they seemed to ripple like water every time he walked.
This doesn't really feel like Pandora's costume...
Paris, whose eyes had been sparkling ever since Yu Myeong stepped out, clapped enthusiastically the moment he saw him.
"Poseidon! You look just like Poseidon. It suits you perfectly."
"...?"
"Next one! Try this one too!"
The next outfit was gray, wrapped in layers that looked almost like overlapping bandages.
After spending ages figuring out which opening was for his head and which was for his arms, Yu Myeong finally emerged wearing it.
Paris immediately threw up both thumbs.
"Wow... You pull off this look too!"
"Designer... is this actually Pandora's costume?"
It was only after changing into a fifth outfit that Yu Myeong finally voiced the question.
Paris cheerfully shook his head.
"No."
"...Pardon?"
"They're gifts!"
"..."
"Every time I watched Casting Boat, my inspiration went completely wild whenever you appeared. I knew my instincts hadn't abandoned me. Honestly, everything looks incredible on you."
He gazed at Yu Myeong with pure admiration.
The Vogue staff standing nearby wore expressions that practically screamed, Multiple custom P.Palace designs... How much are those worth...?
Yu Myeong, however, only felt awkward.
Where am I even supposed to wear clothes like these...?
"Thank you. Then... is the next one Pandora's costume?"
"...Ah... There are still five more of my designs left..."
"..."
"Ah, I've worn you out, haven't I? Sorry. I got carried away. I'll have these all packed up for you, so promise you'll wear them!"
"...Uh... yes."
He was exhausting in an entirely different way from Hugo.
The difference was that, unlike Hugo, there was no way to bluntly refuse him.
His eyes shone with nothing but pure passion and goodwill.
Yu Seok, who had accompanied the shoot as Yu Myeong's manager, couldn't resist teasing him.
"Tomorrow's interview—we should have you wear the 'bandages.'"
"...Director."
"Being able to carry off this many haute couture pieces is seriously impressive."
"Where am I supposed to wear something like that...?"
"Hmm... when you walk to the convenience store?"
Fortunately, they were speaking Korean.
The overexcited designer couldn't understand a single word.
Pandora's first costume was nothing more than pure white fabric.
The second was decorated with countless tiny transparent crystals sewn densely across its surface.
Starting from the blank white base, each successive costume introduced subtle changes, visually portraying Pandora's gradual transformation.
"I even tested the angles of reflected light before attaching every crystal."
Paris explained proudly.
After watching Pandora two days earlier, he had proposed expressing the emotions accumulating inside Editor Herod as light itself.
To create the impression that colored stage lights would scatter and refract through the crystals, he had stayed awake for two straight nights sewing every crystal on by hand.
Editor Herod gathered all of the models together.
"From here on, we'll be shooting individual portraits, couple shots, trio shots... all kinds of combinations and concepts."
"Understood."
"We're also including a foldout poster in the special supplement. For that, we'll shoot it twice and composite the images together."
"How?"
"Yu Myeong's gradually changing expressions left an incredible impression on me. First, we'll use continuous shooting while you slowly turn your body from the front until both side profiles are shown."
Priya — Yu Myeong gradually becoming kind (1-2-3) — Expressionless Yu Myeong — Yu Myeong gradually becoming evil (1-2-3) — Marta
The idea of arranging his changing expressions across the wide foldout poster sounded genuinely impressive.
But one thing didn't make sense.
"Why shoot it twice?"
"We'll photograph your body turning first, then separately shoot the changing facial expressions to composite afterward."
"...? Wouldn't it be easier if my expression changed naturally while I turned?"
Herod blinked in surprise.
"Well... I don't think that's possible. Slowly turning your body while expressing such complicated emotional changes continuously... that would be incredibly difficult. It would be much easier to photograph each expression separately..."
"I can do it."
"You don't have to push yourself..."
"I'd like to try."
Herod found herself nodding almost unconsciously.
For the first time since meeting him, determination—and unmistakable ambition—had appeared on the polite, composed young man's face.
"Angel and Devil! Face each other. Angel, I want your expression filled with malice. Devil, look down on her with mocking arrogance. Perfect!"
The designer's costumes truly were something else.
The pale yellow dress blooming like a single flower, dusted with shimmering gold glitter, made Priya's gentle image sparkle even more brilliantly.
Meanwhile, Marta's military inspired black outfit with its sharply raised collar, combined with her slicked back hair, made her already severe features appear even more intimidating.
"Whew..."
The photographer let out a low whistle.
The contrast between the two women was striking enough on its own.
More surprising, however, was how naturally they had adapted to editorial photography despite having virtually no modeling experience.
After hearing repeated praise that there was hardly anything left to correct, both women remembered Yu Myeong's advice from two days earlier.
"It's basically acting. The only difference is that acting shows a moving picture, while editorial photography captures a single frame. Find a great expression, hold it for a moment, move into another expression and pose, freeze again. Keep repeating that rhythm."
"Wow... How do you know that? Have you done photo shoots before?"
"Yes. Once. It paid a hundred dollars."
His strange answer had left them puzzled.
A hundred dollar modeling job? Is that even a thing?
He had seemed like a superstar in his own country even before appearing here.
Is the cost of living in Korea really that low? they had wondered.
"All right, Devil and Pandora next."
The photographer became even more excited as Yu Myeong stepped onto the set.
He's really not a professional model?
His pauses matched the camera's shutter timing as naturally as any seasoned model's.
Yet the expressions on his face—so captivating they almost felt chilling—were unmistakably those of an actor.
The Devil reached toward Pandora in temptation.
Pandora stood almost within reach of those fingertips, his face completely devoid of emotion.
There was something mysteriously mesmerizing about that perfect blankness.
As though by unspoken agreement, the entire studio fell silent.
A faint ominous blue mixed into the studio lighting.
The light shattered across the crystals sewn into Pandora's costume, scattering fractured reflections over both Pandora's and the Devil's faces.
Paris shivered from head to toe.
"Now all three together."
The concepts continued one after another.
Pandora stood between the Angel and the Devil, his face as immaculate as carved wax while each pulled gently at one of his arms.
Pandora peeked curiously into the mouth of a gigantic jar larger than himself.
The Angel bestowed charm upon Pandora.
Pandora, already overflowing with love and joy, gained a dangerously irresistible allure.
Eventually, they reached the shot everyone had been talking about.
"Are you really sure you can do this?"
"If you think it doesn't work after seeing it, we'll use your original method."
This scene would be photographed using continuous burst shooting.
Unlike ordinary fashion photography, where photographer and model worked together to capture carefully timed still poses, burst shooting often produced awkward, unflattering expressions.
Just like pausing a video at a random frame.
That's why I planned to shoot only the turning body in burst mode and composite the facial expressions afterward... I guess he's an actor, so he doesn't really understand the technical side of photography.
That was what Herod had been thinking.
Then the next shoot began.
Click click click click click click click—click.
As Yu Myeong slowly rotated from facing forward toward his right side, joy gradually accumulated into love, attraction, and finally overwhelming delight until he reached a brilliantly radiant profile.
The transitions were seamless.
Completely stunned, Herod immediately requested playback.
When the images appeared on the monitor, she stared speechlessly.
How...?
Had he rehearsed even every tiny transition between one expression and the next?
Each frame built naturally upon the last, layering emotion step by step until it reached its brightest point.
Not a single transition broke.
Every image flowed beautifully into the next.
"Hello, Derek."
"Hello, Jerry."
Today, Derek McCurdy was recording an episode of a TW talk show.
Ordinarily, Derek almost never appeared on variety programs.
The only reason he had agreed to Jerry's show today was because his contract for Casting Boat included one condition:
He would make a single guest appearance on one additional program besides Casting Boat.
Tom or Jerry SHOW
Airing every Wednesday night, the program had become one of TW's five most popular shows thanks largely to Jerry's quick wit.
"We've been seeing each other a lot lately. At this rate, I might start getting attached."
"Surely you mean you aren't attached yet? That can't be right."
"Haha... Derek really is Derek, isn't he, everyone?"
Laughter erupted throughout the audience.
With his reputation as one of the greatest actors alive, combined with the approachable image he'd recently gained through Casting Boat, Derek McCurdy's appearance had both the audience and production staff grinning from ear to ear.
"We've got a giant like Derek McCurdy here today, so naturally there are a million things I'd love to ask—like those countless dating scandals. But let's be gentlemen. Not because I'm especially gentlemanly, but because viewers are probably far more interested in the hottest show around right now, Casting Boat, than another retelling of Derek McCurdy's love life."
"No!"
"Yes!"
The audience split evenly.
"Now, settle down. I'll ask whatever I want anyway.
"The thing I'm genuinely curious about is this. How did an audition show manage to recruit an SSS tier actor like Derek McCurdy? No matter how huge the appearance fee was, couldn't you have filmed another blockbuster movie during that time instead?"
"That's true."
"So tell us. What's the real reason?"
Derek answered with complete nonchalance.
"Kyle and I have been friends since childhood."
"...Hold on—that's a scoop! Are you saying Director Kyler Unshaw has been your friend since you were kids? So you joined the show just to help your old friend? What a heartwarming story."
"...Not exactly. Well... something like that."
He certainly wasn't about to admit he'd been pestering Kyle to hurry up and hand over his next screenplay.
He merely cleared his throat.
"Oh, there's definitely more to that story... Fine, we'll leave it there. We got 'childhood friends with Director Kyler' out of you, so that's enough.
"Next question. Some viewers think you already knew Yu Myeong before the show."
"...? Not at all. You know that too, Jerry."
"Not me—the viewers. One contestant has been so overwhelmingly dominant that people have started wondering if there's something going on behind the scenes."
Jerry deliberately poked at him.
Derek snorted.
"Why would I?"
"...?"
"Who exactly do you think I am? What would I possibly have to gain?"
He lifted his chin slightly and looked down with effortless arrogance.
The female audience sighed collectively.
It suited him infuriatingly well.
"That's not reasoning. It's just speculation. There's no logic behind it."
"Haha. Derek really is Derek. If we keep this up, I might start getting annoyed, so let's move on.
"Next question. Your comment about 'related searches' while recruiting Yu Myeong into the action class became a massive topic online. If you search Derek McCurdy right now, 'Derek McCurdy Yu Myeong' is already the second related search term.
"Have you ever worried that being associated with a rookie actor might reduce the value of the Derek McCurdy name?"
He smirked.
"His name will rise."
"My name won't fall."
The remark carried both deeply rooted arrogance...
...and complete confidence in elevating Yu Myeong's reputation alongside his own.
Even Jerry looked genuinely surprised.
"Just how highly do you rate Yu Myeong as an actor?"
Derek considered the question for a moment.
Then he answered.
"An actor like me."
"...?"
"The way he approaches acting. His passion. His concentration. His immersion. Even the obsessive fixation on acting that borders on compulsion.
"I believe he's an actor who falls short of me, Derek McCurdy, in none of those things."
Thunk.
The producer, stunned beyond belief, dropped his megaphone.
The greatest actor in the industry—a man famous for fearless confidence backed by unquestionable ability—had just made an astonishing declaration.
The moment this episode aired, it would sweep across the entire country.
And from that day on, everyone would begin waiting for only one thing—
The day Derek McCurdy and Yu Myeong finally shared the same stage.
From across the studio, Jerry winked at the producer.
See? Nailed it.
His smug grin said everything.